# Fakes Headed for Hong Kong Siezed !!



## RPB67 (Mar 26, 2005)

French customs agents seize large haul of counterfeit Cuban cigars Deutsche Presse Agentur
Published: Thursday September 21, 2006
Paris- French customs agents at the Charles de Gaulle Airport north of Paris have impounded a shipment of 35,390 counterfeit Cuban cigars, the Customs Service said Thursday. The fake cigars, which have a value of about 365,000 euros (464,000 dollars), were seized at the end of August and were part of a large shipment originating in Panama and destined for Hong Kong.

According to a statement by the Customs Service, the false nature of the cigars "was difficult to detect" as most of the articles accompanying them in the shipment were authentic.

It was the fourth seizure of its kind since May 2 and, according to customs officials, confirms the growth of a new kind of fraud, since no counterfeit cigars had ever been seized in France before that date.

© 2006 DPA - Deutsche Presse-Agenteur


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## Sandman (Mar 26, 2006)

Well dosen't that just scare the crap out of you?


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## emgjet (Jan 1, 2000)

A very scary thought indeed!!! Yuk, a nightmare!


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## Tapewormboy (Apr 18, 2006)

My question is whether these fakes were destined for the domestic market in Hong Kong or for distribution to venders in HK that sell abroad.


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## Stogiefanatic182 (Oct 28, 2005)

Tapewormboy said:


> My question is whether these fakes were destined for the domestic market in Hong Kong or for distribution to venders in HK that sell abroad.


I hope to god they werent destined for HK vendors


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## Tapewormboy (Apr 18, 2006)

My thoughts exactly.



Stogiefanatic182 said:


> I hope to god they werent destined for HK vendors


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## Barcochris (Aug 16, 2006)

There is some debate if they were fakes or just off the book kind of things.


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## emgjet (Jan 1, 2000)

Need more info on this. I'm sure many are eagar to know.


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## Barcochris (Aug 16, 2006)

there were boxes of fakes mixed it with legit cigars. from what I understand


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## luckybandit (Jul 9, 2006)

hong kong OOOOOOOOOOOOps


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## Andyman (Jun 8, 2004)

Tapewormboy said:


> My question is whether these fakes were destined for the domestic market in Hong Kong or for distribution to venders in HK that sell abroad.


To my knowledge there is no "Domestic" market in Hong Kong as it is illegal to smoke there.. Please correct me if I am wrong..


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## Tapewormboy (Apr 18, 2006)

Ummm, HK might have banned smoking, but there's tons of hardcore collectors that age Cuban cigars for many years.

Hong Kong is one of the larger Cuban cigar markets in the world. MRN is from Hong Kong.



Andyman said:


> To my knowledge there is no "Domestic" market in Hong Kong as it is illegal to smoke there.. Please correct me if I am wrong..


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## etenpenny (Dec 12, 2005)

Andyman said:


> To my knowledge there is no "Domestic" market in Hong Kong as it is illegal to smoke there.. Please correct me if I am wrong..


I think I remember seeing something about how it is illegal to market cigars there also. I know there are some major collectors in that part of the world, perhaps they obtain them from other sources outside hong kong.


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## RockyP (Aug 31, 2006)

this pisses me off. i mean not every time i make a purchase i am going to be wondering if what i am getting is fake or not


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## Tapewormboy (Apr 18, 2006)

It definitely injects a lot of doubt into making purchases.

RPB67, can you post the link to the article? Thanks!



RockyP said:


> this pisses me off. i mean not every time i make a purchase i am going to be wondering if what i am getting is fake or not


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## Timberlake2006 (Sep 8, 2006)

Yeah it makes you wonder, if they catch half of them, that means there is about 2 million $'s worth of fake cubans going around in that area, and Im sure saying they catch half of them is giving them about 100 times more credit then they deserve, and thats just one customs agency, its disgusting how many fakes are floating around.


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## DriftyGypsy (May 24, 2006)

Tapewormboy said:


> It definitely injects a lot of doubt into making purchases.
> 
> RPB67, can you post the link to the article? Thanks!


French customs agents seize large haul of counterfeit Cuban cigars


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## motownflip (Jul 26, 2006)

Thank goodness I saw this before I put my order in. I feel bad for the vendors there. I guess you just let it coold down for a little bit there.


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## stashu (Aug 12, 2006)

Here are some pictures of the seized cigars.

The article is in French though.

http://www.ecaraibes.com/article/article.asp?id_article=11399842250889#photos


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## RGD (May 10, 2006)

_Not to single your post out - just using it as an example of the tone -_



motownflip said:


> Thank goodness I saw this before I put my order in.


This is the fourth shipment that they have intercepted - but yet no one was worried about it before because what - ignorance is bliss? If this news report makes anyone worry about ordering - then I say you were ordering from the wrong vendor to start with. Cuban cigars are one of the most counterfeited items in the world. If you trusted that whatever vendor you were using was obtaining his or her supply through Habanos SA before this report - then there is no reason to question them now. According to the news report "large shipment originating in Panama" does not sound like it was coming from SA to me.

And let's not forget that counterfeit cigars are not germane to Cubans only - when was it - last spring sometime when the big bust took place in Florida - and those were NC's. Anybody stop ordering NC's?

So I say hey great - stopped a shipment and maybe catch a few bastards - but that report won't be slowing me down. Lack of current funds is the only thing that doing that. :tg

Ron


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## Ivory Tower (Nov 18, 2005)

Ugh. 

I would just hope the vendors are vigilant about checking for any fakes that make it through and sending them back.


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## zemekone (Aug 1, 2004)

Honestly... I trust my vendors 100%. If i did have a problem with my shipment being suspect, my vendor will gladly take them back and refund me or resend... TRUST YOUR VENDOR! most of them are pretty stand up and if u dont trust them, dont order.


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## emgjet (Jan 1, 2000)

Reliable Vendors with a solid return/refund policy is a must. As far as trusting them 100%, well sometimes a long distance trust relationship can get complex since many factors are involve.

Do your checks. As I frequently order my regulars, I always examine and inspect the boxes (Box, Seals, Labels, etc.), and of course, your senses will let you know if you have the Real deal. Any doubt, send them back.
:w


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## Lumpold (Apr 28, 2005)

So, this seems to be a big international faking operation... one of the shipments seized was 50,000 boxes and bands, going from Bulgaria to DR, where they believe the cigars are produced, then shipped to Panama and on to HK. The difficulty they had intercepting these is that they we part of a larger shipment of 100,000 boxes... so only about 1/3 of the shipment was fake...


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## RPB67 (Mar 26, 2005)

I found this on another board - a rough translation of the French Article.

These fakes were particularly difficult to detect, as they formed part of a batch of 100 000 articles, in source of Panama and with destination of Hong Kong, of which the two thirds were authentic.
With the assistance of an expert, the customs officers however managed "to sort the truth out from the forgery" and to extract from the loading 1,612 boxes of counterfeits of several very known marks of cuban cigars, like MONTECRISTO, PARTAGAS, BOLIVAR, COHIBA, DIPLOMATICOS..."

Fourth seizure since May 2…
-May 2: 4,618 cigars + 1053 stickers, made in Dominican Rep, destination Dubaï;
- June 7: 6,400 cigars coming from Guatemala, destination Saint-Marteen;
- July 10: 30,755 empty boxes and 51,000 "Habanos" and "Cohiba" stickers (!!!!!), coming from Bulgaria, destination Dominican Rep, where the cigars were supposed to be rolled.

Please forgive the bad english, it's the middle of the night in France…


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## DriftyGypsy (May 24, 2006)

Try Google tranlation for the full article...


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## luckybandit (Jul 9, 2006)

I guess you have to trust your retailer. I know i'll keep ordering anyway!


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## Corona Gigante-cl (Sep 8, 2005)

:tpd: This story is just a reminder: know your vendor!


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## clovis (Apr 14, 2004)

Several years ago in the US (and other coutries) there was the big "mad cow disease" scare. The US market reacted, of course, with lower prices. I never ate so much steak in my dang life....bliss.

Well, thinking that prices of HK Cubans will drop is probably foolish, but maybe (unlikely), but maybe the cigar market will react and cool in HK...leaving some more aged smokes as time passes. 

See...the glass is half full.


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## mosesbotbol (Sep 21, 2005)

I heard a few years ago, LCDH in Montreal ended up with some fakes. They were recieving the cigars on the premises that they were real. This is to say that the vendor could get dupped just as the consumer can. Obviously, you should try to buy from someone that is a top tier seller, but even they are not above getting some fakes. They do their best to insure their products are legit and I hope and suspect this was a rare case.

I would not lose sleep over this, as fakes are around all the time and in this case, it made the paper.


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## Corona Gigante-cl (Sep 8, 2005)

mosesbotbol said:


> I heard a few years ago, LCDH in Montreal ended up with some fakes...


How could that have happened?

Doesn't LCDH Montreal get all their stock directly from Havana House?


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## JohnnyFlake (May 31, 2006)

Andyman said:


> To my knowledge there is no "Domestic" market in Hong Kong as it is illegal to smoke there.. Please correct me if I am wrong..


Hong Kong is one of the, if not the, largest markets for Cuban Cigars in the world! I believe there is one, possibly even two, La Casa de Habanos in Hong Kong.

Johnny


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## Lumpold (Apr 28, 2005)

JohnnyFlake said:


> Hong Kong is one of the, if not the, largest markets for Cuban Cigars in the world! I believe there is one, possibly even two, La Casa de Habanos in Hong Kong.
> 
> Johnny


I think it's illegal to have websites selling cigars in hong kong to hong kong.... kinda similar to the Canadian deal...


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## Stogiefanatic182 (Oct 28, 2005)

Ive only ordered from my vendor once and it is a guy I know at least one other user trusts, but since I have only one order under my belt from him its kinda going to linger in the back of my mind if and when I make my next purchase.


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## partagaspete (Apr 27, 2004)

Stogiefanatic182 said:


> Ive only ordered from my vendor once and it is a guy I know at least one other user trusts, but since I have only one order under my belt from him its kinda going to linger in the back of my mind if and when I make my next purchase.


I have two orders from my HK vendor six boxes in total. quick delivery, fair prices, and they do pre-inspect. My last order arrived late Aug. and they are authentic. I plan on ordering from there again. If I get fakes I have no doubt they would replace them. It comes down to what many have said; know thy vendor.

BTW: How bout them Bronx Bombers?? 

T


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## papajohn67 (May 25, 2006)

Stogiefanatic182 said:


> Ive only ordered from my vendor once and it is a guy I know at least one other user trusts, but since I have only one order under my belt from him its kinda going to linger in the back of my mind if and when I make my next purchase.


Small package arrived today from the area in question. I've been happy in the past with the results of my purchases.......fakes, hell I don't know but if they are their darn good fakes and are very tasty to boot. Not going to let it eat on me.


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## Corona Gigante-cl (Sep 8, 2005)

Let's wait and see who's running low on stock next month...


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## xibbumbero (Feb 20, 2006)

As people have posted,trust your vendor and only deal w/vendors w/liberal return policies. X:w


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## mosesbotbol (Sep 21, 2005)

Corona Gigante said:


> How could that have happened?
> 
> Doesn't LCDH Montreal get all their stock directly from Havana House?


I am just the messenger on this one. Could be BS, too; just throwing it out there.


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## Legends of the Playground (Sep 29, 2006)

Corona Gigante said:


> Let's wait and see who's running low on stock next month...


I never thought of it that way but...


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## Mikes (Apr 6, 2004)

What I think is scary is the fact that ERDM cigars are even being counterfeited now. Geeez you would think it would be monty's or cohibas....


Woozers


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## mosesbotbol (Sep 21, 2005)

When the article mentions Hong Kong, many of us are all thinking the same thing... Is there any evidence to validate our worries? I know of people who have thought they were not getting legit stuff, without getting into names or details... 

Faking ERDM's? Yikes...


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## One Lonely Smoker (Jan 21, 2005)

This is not surprising to me at all, there is a vendor that ships "habanos direct" from spain, and their weekly specials would come up sketchy from time to time, and as a whole I would vote NO on advising people where to shop, but when I complained about some fake RyJ Robustos EL shipped from them, they "assured me" that "these cigars ship from the Habanos warehouse in Panama where access is strictly controlled and blablabla". Truth was, they were fake, and a ton of fakes come through there as well. i don't believe habanos has a warehouse in Panama, but who cares. Truth is, even some vendors that people swear by online can get some really bad stuff into their pipeline. Beware.


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## mtb996 (Apr 5, 2006)

JohnnyFlake said:


> Hong Kong is one of the, if not the, largest markets for Cuban Cigars in the world! I believe there is one, possibly even two, La Casa de Habanos in Hong Kong.
> 
> Johnny


There are 2 LCdH in HK. One is in the Sheraton in Kowloon, where I will be in 2 weeks.

Additionally, there are many local cuban cigar dealers throughout the city, some to be trusted, some not. As always, be careful.

-Mike


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